BTIG Research Issues Positive Forecast for COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) Stock Price

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) had its target price upped by BTIG Research from $33.00 to $38.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on COPT Defense Properties from $26.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $28.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of COPT Defense Properties from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.75.

COPT Defense Properties Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CDP opened at $32.83 on Wednesday. COPT Defense Properties has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $34.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 0.98.

COPT Defense Properties (NYSE:CDP) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $189.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $167.37 million. COPT Defense Properties had a net margin of 18.34% and a return on equity of 8.99%. COPT Defense Properties’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that COPT Defense Properties will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

COPT Defense Properties Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. COPT Defense Properties’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 96.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Britt A. Snider purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.41 per share, with a total value of $29,410.00. Following the acquisition, the chief operating officer now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,820. This trade represents a 100.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On COPT Defense Properties

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new stake in shares of COPT Defense Properties during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 711.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the third quarter valued at about $91,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in COPT Defense Properties in the first quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in COPT Defense Properties by 28.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter.

About COPT Defense Properties

COPT Defense, an S&P MidCap 400 Company, is a self-managed REIT focused on owning, operating and developing properties in locations proximate to, or sometimes containing, key U.S. Government (USG) defense installations and missions (referred to as its Defense/IT Portfolio). The Company's tenants include the USG and their defense contractors, who are primarily engaged in priority national security activities, and who generally require mission-critical and high security property enhancements.